Help Me Decide Please

[PUKS2016]

I am torn between buying an iPad Pro 9.7 or Macbook 2016. I currently own an iPhone 6s plus and a 1st gen iPad Mini. I want a portable and productive device. I am into the field of architecture and I wonder if the 2016 Macbook could at least operate AutoCAD, Sketchup, Lumion, etc. Any response will be very much appreciated

 

[Mollan]

Go for the MacBook, it is a fantastic machine.

 

[hardax]

For the things you want to do the iPad would be terribly constrictive in my opinion. I personally would wait to see what happens with the pro line though as some of your software would perform much better on a higher end machine.

 

[BeyondtheTech]

I've tested and setup multiple 2015 12" MacBook for friends and clients, and have installed and tested intensive apps such as AutoCAD, Photoshop and Premiere, GarageBand, and/or HitFilm. Not a single complaint about speed or performance.

I would get the iPad Pro as a supplement, if you could, as I use it as an AstroPad graphics tablet and Air Display secondary display to my MacBook, when I'm not using it as a standalone device.

 

[teerexx52]

I have both. I find myself so much happier on the Macbook. Plenty speedy enough for my basic needs in retirement.

 

[PatriotInvasion]

After using a 2015 base MacBook for the past 2 weeks, I can say that I've noticed very few scenarios where the processor was struggling. I just felt like I was using a Mac and didn't even think about it --- and again, that's on a 2015 MacBook.

If portability and ultra lightness are part of your desires, I think the 2016 Skylake model will be more than sufficient for your needs.

I went with the MacBook because I grew tired of trying to make the iPad more than what it was originally designed to be. Steve Jobs' original pitch was that it was better at certain things than a phone or a notebook (web browsing, email, media consumption). I still think that is true, but it was never intended to be the "laptop replacement" it's being marketed as now, and for so many things it's just not that (typing, file management, multitasking).

 

[ZipZap]

Being so close to June, I would wait for the product announcements from WWDC.

 

[KPOM]

The MacBook would be a better choice for now. There is just better software available for OS X for the tasks you describe.

 

[izzyfanto]

Being so close to June, I would wait for the product announcements from WWDC.

I agree. Architecture 3D models can be graphically straining, and you might notice thermal throttling on the MB for those tasks. Just wait a couple weeks.